Greg Gehner started his blacksmithing career in 1997 when he earned a BFA from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. In 2005, he established Transit Forge in northwestern Pennsylvania, where he generates a variety of sculptural, functional and architectural metalwork from his shop in Cambridge Springs. Commissions and distinctive designs, including furniture, railings, signage, lighting and numerous utilitarian objects, can be seen at transitforge.com. His work synthesizes traditional forging skills and industrial fabrication techniques with a contemporary aesthetic.
Grasp – Greg Gehner
2022 | 8 x 6 x 22 inches | Steel
"Grasp" can mean to physically hold, as well as to understand. This work exhibits the action of coaxing stubborn steel to hold a balanced embrace.
I am always intrigued with contrasts of edge and surface in a single piece of forged steel. The gentle distortions and elongations from pushing cold metal into hot visually account for the forces of resistance and plasticity inherent in the forging process. Smooth tapers of steel forged at a low temperature to achieve hard sharp corners counterbalance the organic movement elsewhere.
"Grasp" is a comment on the physical state of holding as well as the process of understanding through the act of forging steel.
Greg Gehner
